Blackpool doctor's warning of ongoing health service pressure

Residents are being warned of a backlog of other illness to be dealt with once the Covid 19 pandemic response has eased.
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Speaking at a meeting of Blackpool Council’s audit committee, Coun David Collett said: “The hard work is only just about to start as Covid has delayed what we normally do.”

He asked if the public health team’s job was “going to be harder because of the backlog”.

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Blackpool Council’s director of public health Dr Arif Rajpura said the virus was expected to widen health inequalities.

Dr Arif RajpuraDr Arif Rajpura
Dr Arif Rajpura

He told councillors: “We have been in pandemic response mode for almost a year so there is a backlog across the whole health system.

“There is a lot of catching up to do and we are worried about the widening of inequalities and we have to address that.

“That’s why I have been very keen to minimise the impact on Blackpool by trying to keep, where possible, schools open as in an area like Blackpool educational inequalities will widen.”

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Dr Rajpura said restrictions were unlikely to be lifted before Easter, with easing of lockdown expected to be “a gradual process as we go into spring and summer”.

He added even after that “we will be living with Covid and my team will still have to deal with outbreaks that occur.”

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